Unlikely Hearts
by jm1681
Summary: Eren struggles to find a way to get through to a crystallized Annie, while Mikasa and Levi share a drink. Annie/Eren. Please Review.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello there Attack on Titan archive :)_

_I'm admittedly still a bit new to the series (Both manga and anime), but I had this idea and through the nudging of a great friend *cough*Draco*cough*, I couldn't help but get writing :) Here's hoping what I've done here isn't TOO much of a stretch, and maybe even makes a little sense :)_

_Oh! Important, this takes place after the latest events of the manga, but deviates from where chapter 52 leaves off ;)_

_I do not own Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin, but I think it's pretty damn awesome ^_^_

* * *

_Every time something great has happened, it's been because I wanted it. Wanted it more than anything. To get out of that damn thing's belly, to protect Mikasa and Armin, to pickup that goddamned spoon! Every time, because it was what I wanted most._

Eren's thoughts consumed him as he stood in the basement of the Survey Corp HQ, just around the corner from his room. _Then, those Titan's in that field…_ he remembered watching the Titan's devour the monster that had eaten his mother. He smiled a bit, _…what I wanted most._

He took a step forward in the room and placed his hand on the crystal that encased Annie Leonhart's body. Levi, Erwin, hell; _any_ member of the Survey Corp would have seen him severely punished, if not killed for being this close to her without any measure of supervision or safety. She was one of the greatest threats humanity had ever seen, and though she was kept in a reasonably small room, no one really knew if it would be enough to stop her. However, as Eren stared at her closed eyes, his thoughts continued to run.

_So many times you could have hurt us from within. So many times you could have done so much more to murder each and every one of us. From what I saw in the forest that day, I have no doubt you may have enjoyed it completely. _He leaned closer still, "So why didn't you?" He closed his eyes and leaned back from the crystal, sighing to himself, "If only I could have spoken to someone about this more. No one would ever possibly listen to my reasons, and those that would…" He looked up at Annie's still form again "…I don't even know that I could trust them when it comes to you."

He pushed off the crystal with both hands and turned away, taking in a deep breath. _Armin would tell me to take action. Captain Levi and Commander Erwin would say that risks are necessary in order to advance in our war. Mikasa would tell me she'd kill her if need be. _He turned back to face Annie and let his breath out. "It likely won't even work," he reassured himself as he stepped back to the crystal.

He placed his hands on the crystal and closed his eyes, reaching out with his thoughts as best he could. Straining and stressing as he tried to conjure something, anything, to communicate or find a way to get into Annie's mind. After a few moments he was exhausted and defeated. _What a stupid idea, _he thought._ That such a thing could be possible, it's…_

As he lifted his head and opened his eyes, the world was black in every direction, and before him, Annie was not only free from the crystal, but awake and staring him down. His jaw fell slack as he created words, "Annie?"

* * *

Above Eren's room and Annie's prison, Levi entered the dining room, which doubled as the Survey Corp's strategic staging area. After Petra's death at the hands of the female Titan, Levi found himself in these walls far more often than usual. He was ritualistic about things, and this was no different; this was where he came to drink.

However, on this night, he found this typically vacant space occupied. "Ackerman," he said, gathering Mikasa's attention.

"Good evening, Captain," Mikasa politely replied, her expression blank as usual. Strangely, the Captain smiled at the sight of her and of course, she took notice. "What?"

"I apologize, I simply don't remember a time when I've seen you without maneuver gear," Levi said, walking past his usual spot at the table.

"Ah," she said as she looked to her sides. "Any other day, I might have it with me. But, because of-"

"It was rather incredible, wasn't it?" Levi nonchalantly asked, interrupting her. He placed a cup in front of her, and took a seat on the bench beside her. "Your friend has many tricks up his sleeve," he said as he filled their cups.

"Yes," Mikasa replied. For a moment, she remembered the beating Levi gave Eren and her anger immediately flared.

"Drink," Levi ordered, bringing her back to the present.

"Huh?" He slid the cup from just out of her reach, into her hand. "I'm not ol-"

"Do you really think your age matters in this world, Ackerman? Not old enough to drink, but old enough to kill Titans?" he again interrupted. She looked to the glass as Levi continued, "Even if it did, today is a special day for humanity; drink."

"The day a human controlled the Titans," Mikasa amended. Without any further encouragement, she raised the glass to her lips and tossed the alcohol down in one gulp.

Levi waited for a reaction. A cough or gag, something to denote that Mikasa was a teenager, and that she had just ingested her first sip of alcohol. But, as with anything and everything Mikasa did, there was hardly any fanfare upon completion of her task.

"Nothing at all is very difficult for you, is it, Mikasa?"

She looked up to him, her face still blank. After looking him over, she turned away as she replied, "Seeing my friends die; that is difficult for me."

"It's difficult for all of us," he commented as he poured another glass for the both of them. This time, no words were needed; they both took their drinks. "For your age, you are perfectly suited to alcohol, Ackerman. However, where your age betrays you is in your humanity."

"What do you mean?"

Levi's eyes narrowed even more so than usual. "Watching our friends, our comrades, our families…" he paused, "…those most precious to us. Watching them die becomes all too familiar with age, Ackerman."

"You no longer care?" Mikasa stammered.

Levi turned to her, "I no longer allow myself to."

"But how can you-"

"It is the only way," he interrupted. "Until today, what choice have we had but to accept the odds as they are?" He looked back to Mikasa for a moment and feeling a tinge of the alcohol in his veins, commented, "You though, you may be different."

* * *

Annie Leonhart rarely looked impressed. Nothing in this world seemed to faze her during her training in the 104th, and once in the field, things were very much the same. She wasn't like the rest; that much everyone knew, though her real nature was something no one expected or even believed, even when they saw it with their own eyes that day. Annie was a Titan, and in her Titan form, she was every bit of the woman she always was; cold and focused. Nothing distracted her as a human, and nothing could stop her as a Titan. Now though, in this meeting of minds, what could she do?

"You don't belong here," Annie said, her voice ringing in all the familiar ways, though with a deeper and more menacing overtone.

"Where is-"

"Does it matter?" Annie interrupted. "It's mine and that's all you need to know." Eren stared at her and she stared right back at him. "You're just like us. A monster. A freak. They'l-"

"I'm _nothing_ like you!" Eren screamed. "You! Reiner! Bertolt! You're nothing but murderers!"

Annie's eyes widened and her body twitched as she shouted, "You know _nothing_ about us. How dare you pretend to!"

"I know Bertolt destroyed the gate and made it possible for Titans to wipe out my village!" he shouted, bringing Annie to flinch. "I watched as a Titan ate my mother while a soldier dragged me away instead of doing their job! Then Reiner ended thousands of lives in an instant. What more can I offer you than to be called a murderer?" Annie shivered as Eren's verbal assault continued. "Did you feel nothing as you killed them all? Did you ever stop and think about what you were doing? Did you ever feel guilty about watching those you called your friends being eaten? Answer me!"

Annie looked away and quietly spoke, "You don't know anything about me."

"Then tell me!" he demanded. "Tell me so I can help you!"

"What?"

"If I understand what the hell was going on inside your head, or even Reiner or Bertolt's for that matter, I can at least try to plead your case to those who would judge you!"

"Why? Why would you do any of this?" Annie asked bringing Eren to flinch. "You hate the Titans, right? You want nothing more than to kill all of them, right?"

"I-"

"I'm right here; kill me," Annie requested.

Though Eren knew he was no match for her in hand-to-hand combat, he believed simply by reading her body language that she wouldn't have struggled at all. Instead, he waited, and in time, she gave him exactly what he wanted.

"Whether it's you, or someone else, I'm dead," she said.

"If you would just tell me something, anything, I can-"

"You think the humans are my only concern?" That unsettled him greatly. In her current state, he would never consider calling her anything but a human being. Flesh and blood same as his. However, for her to play that card, to refer to those that would judge her as humans, that meant she viewed herself as something else. "Where I come from, failure is frowned upon, and now I've failed twice to take you." She looked away from Eren, her fire cooling as she finished her thought. "For this they'll see me dead anyway."

"Annie…" Eren took his time and chose his words carefully. "…I don't want you to die."

Just as she had at the entrance to the underground tunnel, Annie chuckled, and before long, she was laughing loudly. Eren grimaced and she spoke over his angered expression, "What makes me special, Eren?"

All the care he put into choosing his words, and he hadn't thought to prepare a justification. Annie watched him squirm, but before long, he came up with something that made sense. "You have so much knowledge to give, Annie. Knowledge of combat, and of… of-"

"How to control the Titan," she interrupted.

"Yes."

* * *

"What does that mean, Captain?" Mikasa asked. "How may I be different?"

Levi had not so subtly painted himself into a corner. No man could deny Mikasa's beauty, that much could be considered obvious to the Captain. However, commenting in any way on her behalf was taboo in every respect. For a superior officer to address anyone, let alone a member of the opposite sex in such a way, it was completely unacceptable. On top of that, Levi was famous for keeping his emotions in check. Were it not for the alcohol in his system, there was no way this may have come out as it did.

"You are an ideal partner, Mikasa Ackerman," Levi explained. "In combat, everyone's lives are forfeit. Armin, Jean, Hanji, even Eren; none of them can engage a Titan without a degree of uncertainty."

"No one can do th-"

"You can," he interrupted. She said nothing, though her face became more rigid, as though she were angered. "You willingly engage any enemy, and you do so without hesitation. Many among the Survey Corp call you reckless; this is simply their inexperience."

"What do you mean?"

"There is nothing reckless about your actions; everything you do is deliberate." He took another drink and continued, "In many ways, you're a lot like your friend, though in many others, you're a lot like me."

"Like you?"

Levi stared into her eyes for several seconds before answering. "A beast."

That would be the second time someone referred to her as a beast. She didn't care for it much on the surface, though inside, it made her drunk with power. Still, whom she let herself be, versus who she was on the inside, the side she showed Eren always won. "I am not," she quietly stated.

He leaned closer, the alcohol on his breath making her wince, "Yes. You are. Just like me, you are a killer, cold and dead inside. What's more, you're good at it. You may hate yourself for it, but do not mistake it or think ill of it; you are a monster, only narrowly separated from the Titans."

She stood from the bench and roared, "Take that back!"

Levi leaned back and laughed. "You're too uptight, Ackerman." He poured another glass for her, but she smacked it off the table.

"I am _not_ like one of them!" she screamed. "I've never hurt a human and I-"

"How many times has someone held you back?" Mikasa reeled from his comment. "How many times were you ready, and willing to kill a member of your squad?" He stood to meet her eyes directly. "I don't think ill of you for this, Mikasa. I respect and admire that you stand so proudly for your friends, and are willing not only to give your life for theirs, but to kill for them as well. However, there is no misinterpreting these things. You are a killer inside…" he raised a finger, and pressed it to Mikasa's forehead, "…and out."

Her eyes were wide, her body was shivering, and she had no arguments to make. He was right, and more than she ever knew it; she now felt it. She crumbled to her seat, and quietly said, "A killer."

* * *

"Why?" Annie asked. "Why should I even consider helping you in any way? It's because of _you_ that I can't go home. It's because of _you_ that I'm a traitor both to the humans, and to my people. So tell me, why? Why should I help you?"

"Because you don't have to be a traitor to the humans!" Eren screamed. Annie's eyes widened as he yelled at her. "No matter what you've done, there are people here just like me! People that refuse to believe that you did this because you wanted it! You tell _me_! Is this really what you wanted, Annie?"

"I…" she couldn't find anything.

"Are you anything more than a puppet to the people in your village? Or are you just a dog?"

"I'm…" still, nothing.

"Let _me_ help _you_, Annie," Eren pleaded, calming himself down. "You have nothing to lose by trusting me; I have everything to lose by trusting you."

"Idiot."

Eren smiled, "Whatever happened to 'Suicidal Bastard'?"

"You're that too. More than ever if you're willing to blindly trust me." Though she was absolutely right, she could see it on him; he _did_ trust her. Not just in the way he trusted the other members of the 104th, but the way he trusted Armin, and Mikasa; the way he trusted family. "Why Eren? Why do you trust me?"

Eren looked away, his cheeks tingeing on pink. "If you wanted to kill us, you had too many chances to do so."

"Not good enough."

"You had enough chances, and if being put to death was the alternative given by your people, you would have done as you needed to, but you didn't. You let Armin go, you let Jean go, and you let me live. Sparing the lives of my friends is enough for me."

Annie looked away as well, looking anywhere to the black that surrounded them to avoid his eyes. "If I say 'yes', what's your plan?"

Eren smiled a lunatic's grin. "It's the dumbest idea in the world, but if it works, I believe they will trust you as I do."

"As _you_ do?"

"Well, at least enough to not try and kill you on the spot."

* * *

Mikasa knocked back one drink after another, and though she was every bit as indomitable as Levi, she was starting to feel the effects.

"This is my fault," Levi commented, his head in his hand. "I shouldn't have pushed you like that, I'm sorry."

"No! It's good that I face who I am with no reservations!"

"Yes, but you shouldn't have drank so much."

"I drank less than you!" Mikasa stammered as she waved about.

"Yes, but your body mass is very minimal and-"

"Besides! I'm ready, right? Always ready and able to kill, right? You said it yourself!"

"Ah…" Levi commented. _I think today is a great day to stop drinking,_ he thought. _I don't even remember half of what I said now. _Just like that, he remembered a good part of what he said.

"_In combat, everyone's lives are forfeit. Armin, Jean, Hanji, even Eren; none of them can engage a Titan without a degree of uncertainty."_

_What if we were to be attacked now? What would we-_

His thoughts were interrupted as a member of the Survey Corps burst into the room, "Captain Levi!"

* * *

In the courtyard where Sawney and Bean once resided, Annie and Eren stood, their backs to one another while numerous members of the Survey Corps surrounded them. Every single one of them had their weapons drawn and was trembling while they awaited Levi's arrival and orders. Among them, Armin and Jean stood beside one another, the only two to not have their weapons at the ready. _What the hell are you doing, Eren?_ Armin wondered.

_The Suicidal Bastard has really lost it now, _Jean thought._ Vital as he is, I'm not sure anyone will let him walk away from this._

"This plan of yours seems pretty stupid," Annie commented.

"Wait," he said. "All it will take is the right people, and the right moment."

Annie's eyes closed in disappointment only to open a second later, doing as Eren said; waiting for just the right moment.

Levi and Mikasa burst into the courtyard, and upon seeing them enter together, Eren quietly commented, "Mikasa and Levi?"

"Everyone hold!" Levi called. "Eren! What are you-"

Mikasa, however, was of a single mind when it came to Annie, sober or not. "Get away from him!"

"Now!" Eren ordered, and with that, Annie flipped her ring open and sliced her finger.

* * *

_And there ends chapter one :) More to come in the next few days :)_

_Hope you're enjoying it so far,  
_-jm


	2. Chapter 2

_And chapter two is here ^_^ Enjoy!_

* * *

The lightning bolt struck, and in an instant, the female Titan was there, staring down the faces of those who sought to kill her mere days earlier. No one could move, they could barely even breathe. Mikasa engaged her maneuver gear and immediately Levi's eyes narrowed on her. Feeling responsible, he gave chase, however, by the time they got to Annie's neck, Eren had already used his gear to climb her Titan body, and shield her neck.

"Stop!" he shouted, his eyes shut tight and his arms outstretched.

The pneumatic winding of the maneuver gear slowed, and Mikasa and Levi resided just below Annie's neck, looking up at Eren and waiting.

"What is the meaning of this, Eren?" Levi barked, while Mikasa merely snarled, itching and looking for any reason to dismember Annie, over and over again.

From below them, another face joined the party. "Oh my!" Hanji shouted, unsure whether or not she should be ecstatic or petrified. "What is-"

"Hanji!" Levi shouted, silencing her, without taking his eyes off of Eren.

Eren reached to his sides and hooked a blade onto his right control. He placed a hand on Annie's neck, bringing her Titan head to slowly turn to face him. She nodded and he returned the nod. He slid the blade into her neck, and with no resistance or struggle from her Titan form, cut around Annie's body, revealing her. Levi's mouth cracked open slightly as Eren helped her from the Titan. She was awake, and her daze seemed to vanish by the second.

"What is this?" Levi again asked.

"It's complicated," Annie replied.

* * *

In the same room Mikasa and Levi had just occupied, they, plus Eren, a handcuffed and de-ringed Annie, Hanji, and Armin all sat. All eyes were on Annie, whom elected to stare very intently at the table. While all of them were staring in disbelief, Hanji was the only one who appeared to be genuinely excited. However, that they got to bottom of this was the most important thing. "Why now?" Levi asked.

"Annie can't go back to her home anymore," Eren said. "Because of-"

"I asked her, Eren; not you," Levi barked. "Do not answer for her again."

It took her a moment, for what reason, everyone wondered. Was she ashamed? Was she bored? Was she just being her usual, distant and difficult self? They might never know, but the answer to Levi's question came all the same. "I can't return home."

"To the same place Reiner and Bertolt are now?" Armin asked.

Her eyes didn't blink nor move as she replied, "Yes."

"Where is it?" Levi asked.

Finally, she looked at him. "Why?"

His fist slammed onto the table and he barked, "You've killed hundreds and you think you get to ask anything of me?"

Annie looked to Eren, and this time Mikasa's fist hit the table, harder than Levi's. "Why do you look to him as though he's going to save you? If you hadn't tried to kill him in the first place none of this would have happened, and now you expect him to be your savior?!"

"I will be, Mikasa," Eren said, silencing the room completely.

"How can you trust her, Eren?" Levi spat.

"Annie is the strongest enemy we have ever faced; there is no arguing this," Eren said. "The last time I confronted her, I won through madness alone. The next time, I wasn't able to find that same rage and Reiner defeated me with little trouble. However, it is only because of skills I learned from Annie that I was able to keep up with him in the first place." Everyone was at least listening to him now. "She has knowledge to give and to share with us, with _all_ of us. But most importantly, she can teach me how to control the Titan."

"Does she know?" Mikasa asked, gathering everyone's attention. "Does she know that _you_ can control the Titans?"

"It's why we were sent into the walls in the first place," Annie replied.

"You knew he could do it this whole time?" Levi asked.

"No. We knew there was someone or something within the walls that possessed the ability to control Titans," Annie clarified. She turned to Eren who was now staring at her, "I had no idea who or what it was, or the cost that would cause it to be revealed; just that I would know it when I saw it."

Eren couldn't deny the anger he felt, but of all the things he learned these past years, it was that the world was bigger than him. His anger for what happened to his mother was the best of fuel, but in the end, his battle was humanities battle, and that was with all of the Titans. He pushed his rage aside and offered Annie a nod.

From the opposite end of the room, one of the few people to get close to Annie in her Titan form spoke up. "We've been in each other's company very often these past five years, Annie," Armin said. "I speak for all of us in the 104th when I say we all viewed you as more than a friend. But, that doesn't change what happened out there. I know you could be useful, maybe even more useful than Eren, but in the end, we were your family and you killed us."

Annie's face sank further. Coming from any of them other than Armin, it may not have stung so badly. Armin though, he was one of the few people who gave Annie the time of day, even going so far as to call her a good person. She lifted her head back into view, Bringing Levi's eyes to narrow. Annie's eyes leaked a single trail of tears, as she spoke, "I…I'm sorry."

With that, Levi pulled a chair out and sat across from Annie. Though her body language was blank, he sized her up as best he could. "This is the second time I've seen you like this," he said.

"What?" Annie asked.

He reached across the table and with very little finesse, wiped the tears from her cheeks. He curled his fingers, smearing her tears on his palm as he spoke, "Crying. In the forest you cried when we took Eren back from you."

"You saw…" Annie asked with wide eyes.

"Why were you crying, Annie?" Levi sternly asked. "Was it because you hated yourself for what you had done? Or was it because you failed?"

"It was because…" she cowered, retreating within herself.

"Answer, dammit!" Mikasa barked.

She bit her lip slightly, and finally burst, "…so many died for nothing!"

"You took no pleasure from it?" Levi asked. She looked up to him, her eyes still coated with tears. "Tell me honestly now that you enjoyed none of it, and we can move forward."

"I…" she remembered that day in the field. Remembered what she did to those soldiers. How she disposed of them one after the other, using the death of one to terrify and intimidate the others. The complete loss of control as her power overtook her, just as Eren's power so easily overwhelmed him. "…It's difficult to explain."

"There is nothing to explain!" Mikasa roared. "Did you or didn't you?"

She said nothing. Her tears slid down her cheeks without end, until finally, she asked, "Eren?" He looked to her, and she asked, "When you first transformed, how did you feel?"

"I don't remember," Eren replied. "I blacked out." Annie's eyes fell shut as one of her few hopes was removed. However, Eren continued to speak. "The second time, I remember more clearly."

Annie looked up to him with hopeful eyes, and with all eyes on Eren, he took in a breath. "It feels like you are not _a_ god, but _God Himself_." Everyone's mouth fell agape. "You feel as though you will never see defeat from your enemies. You feel no pain, no exhaustion; nothing but power." He looked to Levi and kept his voice calm and collected, "You can't ask her a question like that, because anyone in her place would have felt exactly what she felt; like God."

They were all silent for a moment until Levi made the decision. "You are to remain with Eren in the basement," he ordered. Eren's eyes met his, and he continued, "You will remain shackled at the wrists, and ankles throughout the night until we can figure out what to do with you. But, for now, so long as Eren keeps his faith in you, he will also be responsible for you until Commander Erwin joins us in three days."

* * *

In Eren's cell in the basement, he and Annie sat on his bed, dressed down for the night. It was only by Mikasa and Hanji's watch that Annie was allowed to change her clothes before being restrained for the night. However, she put up no resistance whatsoever, and Hanji was sure to gush over the possibilities of learning from her. Now though, it was well past midnight, and teens would be teens.

"Tell me about you, Annie," Eren said. "Tell me…tell me how…why."

She looked every which way but to him as she spoke, "How and why what?"

"How long have you been able to turn into a Titan? How are you able to?" Eren clarified.

"Honestly? I'm not even sure myself," Annie said. "The people I…" she stopped and let out a frustrated sigh, "…I really can't remember much."

Eren smiled, "We have nothing but time down here, Annie. Besides, maybe I can help you put some of the pieces together."

Again she let out a sigh, looking more uninterested than ever, "Fool."

"Hey!" Eren groaned.

"I remember training with my father when I was young. I had no mother so my father raised me as he knew; as a warrior. He taught me how to fight the way people in our village fought. We used our legs, our knees, and our elbows, but most of all, we used our enemies movements against them." She smiled slightly, and looked Eren in the eye as she continued, "Father always told me I was very skilled. That I learned quickly, and that I became proficient just as fast." Her smile faded and again her eyes looked away. "I remember my father, that part of what they told me I now know wasn't real."

"That part of…what?" Eren asked.

"One day, when we were finished training for the morning, my father took me into his arms. He was behaving strangely all morning, pushing me very hard, but I never failed to complete his exercises. He held me tight and asked me, _begged_ me to forgive him."

"Forgive him for-"

Though she didn't say anything, she didn't have to, Eren could see it on her face that she wasn't very keen on being continuously interrupted. "Sorry, please continue," Eren said.

"He had given me up. Given me to a group that was passing through our village. Times were hard then, and father had very little money. I didn't want to leave, but what was I to do? He was my father and by willingly leaving with those men, I kept my father alive." A single tear slipped from her eye as she went on, "Those men, those…" her eyes shut tight and she shook her head, "…I…I…can't."

"Can't what?" Eren asked.

"It's there, I can see it all, I just…" she struggled so hard, nearly turning a new shade of red, "…I just can't get it out, Eren. They made it so I can't."

Eren's eyes widened. "Made it so you can't? You mean they trained you to not say anything about them?"

"The memories, they're all there, but…" again she fought and struggled. Annie was always so calm, so focused, but in this moment, with her life and the subject of her life wracking her thoughts, she broke down by the second. Finally, her hands crashed into her forehead bringing Eren to flinch. "I know who I am, I know what I can do, but I…" tears slid down her cheeks, "…why can't I just say it?!"

Eren reached to her shackled wrists and pulled her hands away from her forehead, her eyes growing wide in the process. "You don't have to. Just forget about it for now," he offered with a grin.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I…I think…I want to help. I think father would have wanted me to help. He once told me that the whole world would be my enemy, but…" she looked into Eren's eyes, her voice calm, collected, and genuine, "…_you_ are not my enemy."

"No, Annie; I never was." They shared a slight grin with that, but the moment of peace was broken by a yawn on Eren's behalf. Annie chuckled at the sight before joining him in the contagious act. "We should sleep," Eren said. "Who knows what might happen tomorrow."

Annie blushed, a finger grazing her cheek. "If you want, perhaps we could train tomorrow; hand-to-hand."

"You truly do enjoy combat, don't you, Annie?"

"I do," she answered.

"I'd really like that, just go easy on me!" Eren requested.

"Maybe," Annie said with a smile. Eren slid off of the bed and removed a blanket from a table in the room. "What are you…?"

Her words seemed to disappear as Eren laid the blanket on the floor beside the bed, silently giving her the bed for the night. "It gets cold down here, will the one blanket be enough for you?"

"Why?" Annie asked, her eyes glistening. "After all I've done, why do you treat me this way?"

"Because you're my friend, Annie. Whatever your reasons were, I don't…I _won't_ believe it was what you truly wanted in your heart."

Annie sat gob smacked. She had pursued him without mercy and without fail, for reasons she couldn't even completely understand. Yet, here he was, offering her the few kindnesses available to him. "Thank you," she said.

They pulled their blankets over themselves, Eren lying with his back to Annie. "Good night, Annie Leonhart," Eren said.

"Good night, Eren Yeager," Annie replied. Though they'd said their goodnights, neither made any attempt whatsoever to close their eyes. After a few moments in silence, Annie spoke once more, "Eren?"

"Yes?"

"Do you love Mikasa?"

"What?" Eren asked as he sprung upright from the floor.

Annie on the other hand didn't move at all. "Mikasa cares for you very much, even I can see that. Do you care for her the same way?"

Eren blushed and replied, "I care for Mikasa very much as well."

"Do you love her?"

"Mikasa is the only family I have left. Her and Armin, they're my closest friends, and I suppose I love them both as my dearest friends and family," Eren explained.

"But she is not special to you?" Annie prodded further.

Eren's cheeks reddened further, "Not like 'that', if that's what you mean."

Considering their positions in the room, there was no way Eren could see the small smile on her face. "Good night, and Eren?"

"Hmmm?"

"Again, thank you."

Their eyes finally closed for the night, both of them calm and serene in the moment. In here, there were no Titans, and in here they were safe. However, where Eren slept soundly, Annie subconsciously ticked at the slightest of sounds. Her eyes fluttered open, and through the hole in the door, she could have sworn she saw a pair of eyes; there, then gone, with each blink. As her vision in the dark of their room came into focus, what she thought she saw was gone. _Just a dream? _she wondered as her eyes fell shut.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter three: Engage!_

* * *

The following morning, Eren learned the extents of Levi's dissatisfaction the hard way. Being responsible for Annie meant his rations were her rations, giving them a loaf of bread to share between the two of them. As they ate their respective halves by themselves with the whole of the Survey Corps watching, they couldn't help but feel like freaks. However, surprisingly it was Annie who broke the tension.

"Eren?"

"Huh?" he said, being distracted from his observation of being observed.

"Can you imagine if you were made responsible for Sasha?" she asked.

All at once, Eren turned to Annie and let out a loud laugh. They both laughed over their memories of the first day in training, of Sasha eating that potato, and at seeing them simply enjoying life, the rest of the Survey Corps averted their gaze.

Maybe they were human after all.

After getting through half of their halved breakfast, Levi and Mikasa found Eren and Annie's table and took a seat, Levi beside Annie, Mikasa beside Eren. From across the table Annie's eyes met Mikasa's, and Levi's met Eren's. "Gomen, Eren" Mikasa commented first. Eren's eyes widened in disbelief, and Mikasa explained, "We need to trust one another. Trust the instincts of our friends." She looked up to Annie as she continued, "I never liked you, Annie; it's not a secret. You never hurt me, or did anything to me, but your face, the way you looked down on all of us; that is why I disliked you." It may not have been the real reason, but it worked for her in this moment.

"Until you came into my world, I didn't know your face, let alone your name," Levi said to Annie. "However, I don't share Mikasa's diplomacy; I simply hate you with every fiber of my being."

Levi was the least to be taken lightly, and his warning came with no mistakes of his intentions. He leaned in close, his eyes half open as he warned, "I will watch you every second while you're in my home. When you believe yourself to be alone, I am there. If you try anything that _I_ believe to be dishonest, I will cut you into as many pieces as I see fit, and I will burn those pieces just to be sure."

Annie's eyes widened as she remembered what happened the night before. The eyes that appeared at the door to watch only her, she would have sworn they were nothing more than a dream.

They stood from their seats, and Eren stuttered, "Mi…Mikasa…?"

However, before she could answer, Levi dug his fingertips hard into Annie's shoulder, "Welcome to the Survey Corps."

* * *

After finishing breakfast, everyone set out on their own for the day. With Commander Erwin out of commission, and no immediate threats to be concerned with, the Survey Corps was on a leave of sorts. Sadly, though not unexpectedly, Eren and Annie were not invited to train with Armin and Jean alongside Mikasa and Levi, however, Eren didn't mind this one bit. He and Annie had already planned to train together and now they would. However, as they headed deeper into the surrounding woods, neither of them with maneuver gear, Eren couldn't deny the hint of fear he felt. If Annie were to betray him, he'd be powerless to stop her.

"Here," Annie said as she came to a stop near a small cropping of thick bamboo.

"Why here?" Eren asked.

Annie knelt down and rolled her pant legs up to her knees. Without further question from Eren or explanation from Annie, she took her stance and let loose a kick with her right leg, slamming her shin into one of the bamboo shoots at about thigh height. Eren flinched at the crack the shoot made and immediately asked, "Are you alright?"

"Your turn," Annie said without the slightest hesitation.

"Me?" Eren asked in panic. "I can't-"

"This was lesson one for me," Annie interrupted. "When I first attempted this, I was bedridden for most of the following day. But, the day after, I hit the tree twice as hard, and twice as many times."

"Did you walk the day after that?"

She nodded and Eren looked to the shoot. He looked back to her and rolled his pants as she had. He took a stance mimicking hers, to which she stepped over to him and adjusted his arms and legs.

This was interesting for Eren.

It was the first time a woman besides his mother, or Mikasa touched him in such a way, and the feeling was perhaps unexpected. After fixing his stance, a now blushing Eren found himself staring at Annie.

"Eren?" she asked.

"Huh?" he replied, snapped from his trance.

"The tree."

"Oh, right!" Without a thought in his head, Eren whipped his shin into the tree, eliciting a similar crack to the sound Annie made. However, it was quickly followed with a high-pitched scream. Somewhere, he was certain that Mikasa, Armin, Jean, and Levi all heard him in that moment.

As Eren rubbed his shin, Annie let out a sigh. She reached down to him and lifted him back up onto his feet. The physical contact straightened him out for a second, though he quickly let out a steady stream of fevered gasps. "Are you alright?" she calmly asked.

"No I'm not alright! How the hell can you do that? It hurts like hell!"

She stepped around him and let out three kicks in quick succession, all striking the tree in the same spot. She leaned back on the leg and using as much energy as she could gather in just a second or two, let loose one more time. The shoot cracked on impact and her follow through saw it bend to the ground. Eren watched on awestruck, and she commented, "It hurts now, but I promise it will not hurt for long." She helped him to another shoot of bamboo and instructed him, "Five times with your right, five times with your left. When you are done, we can take a break."

Eren said nothing in return, trying his hardest to bury the pain.

He took his stance, dug the ball of his foot into the dirt and let the kick go. His eyes squinted tight and he again fell to the ground. "Don't think about it," Annie said. "The more you let it hurt, the more it _will_ hurt; one right after the other."

Though he now had tears in his eyes, he stood, using rage to fuel the task she set for him. "Three," she said. "Four. Five. Next leg." As instructed, he switched sides with a hobble and let the next five kicks out. Upon completing the last kick, Annie threw her arms out and just in time as Eren fell onto them.

"It hurts!" he roared. "How can you do this?"

Annie didn't smile or frown, but remained blank as always. She only knew to catch him because her first time, she needed the same thing. She helped him to the ground and sat him up with his legs bent at the knees. Again she did as her father had for her, rubbing his shins to put heat into the tender skin. The physical contact snapped Eren out of it, though this time, only just. "You did very well," Annie said.

"Thanks," Eren spat through his tears. "Now what are we supposed to do? I can barely walk!"

"Now we go for a run," Annie said.

"What?!" Eren barked. "I just told you I can't walk!" She took his hand into hers and raised it to his lips. He saw what she was insisting of him and he immediately sobered up from the pain. "What do you-"

"Right now Eren the human can't run. But, Eren the Titan feels nothing," she explained. His eyes shimmered in both pain and fear of what might happen if they changed, however, the prospect of having the pain in his legs go away was one he rather enjoyed.

"What will we do?" he asked.

"You follow me and after we have our run, we will spar."

"But I don't have the control you do, what if I-"

"That's the point," she said. "Controlling a Titan body is something that can't be taught, Eren; it can only be accomplished with time inside a Titan body. We will take our time, and we will go easy on each other. The more time we take, the more you will learn; the more you will see and think for the Titan."

"How will we change back?"

"I'll pull you out; I can emerge on my own," she replied.

Again, he felt a glimmer of doubt, but pushed it down and offered her a nod. With that, Annie took a few steps back and raised her hand to her lips as well. "Ready?" she asked.

* * *

Back at Survey Corps HQ, Jean and Armin traversed the roof of the structure, occasionally firing off their maneuver gear, swinging from one ledge to another. After a few leaps, Jean took a kneeling position and Armin joined him a second later. "Much better that time," Jean said.

Armin looked surprised as he spoke, "The way you explain it, it's so much simpler than how we were taught." He lifted his right control into view and did a flick with his fingers, just over the triggers. He looked back up to Jean with a smile, "I kept up with you and that's got to be good, right?"

Jean, however, stood and continued walking the ledge. "Much faster than you were this morning, just with that one trick." He stopped for a second and looked around the rooftop, "Where the hell are they?"

The morning's exercise was to be an aerial game of Hide and Seek. Mikasa and Levi were the most proficient combatants among the Survey Corps, and so, they were the first to hide. Unfortunately, nearly an hour into the game, they were still nowhere to be found. "This is hopeless," Jean grumbled. "How are we supposed to find a couple ghosts?"

"Give it time, Jean," Armin said with a positive snap to his voice.

"What's got you feeling all cheery?"

"There isn't much of the roof top left and our rules applied to the roof top only," Armin replied. "We've been over nearly every inch, which means they're not hiding _on_ something, but _behind_ something."

Jean looked to one of the towers that jutted out from the roof and without a word, pointed to it. Armin gave him a confident nod to which Jean replied with a smile of clenched teeth. However, as they approached the tower, two loud bangs emerged from the woods. By the time they turned to see what had happened, their suspicions were confirmed; Eren and Annie had transformed.

"What the…?" Jean began only to get lost.

"What are they-"

Armin was cut off as Levi and Mikasa quietly appeared from behind them. "Now we get to see if that bitch will betray us a second time," Levi commented.

"You were right here the whole time?!" Jean shouted in surprise of Mikasa and Levi silently appearing from nowhere.

As they all looked to the two hulking forms standing nearly twice the height of the trees, they wondered just what was going on. Neither made a move or a motion, they simply stood there. Suddenly, Annie reached a hand up to Eren's shoulder, her red-ringed eyes looking deep into Eren's. Mikasa's hands gripped her controls tight as she hooked a pair of blades on, though she didn't withdraw them.

"What is she…?" Mikasa started.

"She's keeping him calm," Armin surmised.

"What do you mean?" Jean asked.

"Whenever we've seen Eren change, his first reactions have always been feral at best. She's trying to keep him present," Armin explained.

Though they were nearly two hundred yards into the woods, they could all see Annie offer Eren a nod, and Eren return that nod. With that, she turned and Eren gave chase. "That's it!" Mikasa shouted as she lunged forward and withdrew her blades. "She's running!"

"Mikasa!" Armin shouted, pausing her for just a moment. He knew Mikasa was on a hair trigger when it came to Eren's safety, and perhaps he knew the real reason she despised Annie so greatly. Regardless, he called out, "She's not running!"

"Have you lost your mind, Armin?" she barked. "She's running away!"

"No, she's not," Levi calmly said. Mikasa gasped as he explained, "Though I'd love any reason to cut her down, she is completely fresh in that body and I've seen her run far faster than that."

"Exactly," Armin said.

"Then what are they…?"

"They're going for a jog together," Armin finished for her. "A jog as Titans, but a jog."

* * *

As they ran, Annie checked behind her every now and again. Eren was keeping up well, and didn't succumb to any more animalistic behaviors. Space being only somewhat limited within the walls, they slowed after several hundred yards, and Annie turned to face Eren, quickly taking her stance. Eren copied her perfectly, and even made the adjustments she showed him just a few moments earlier.

_Good, Eren,_ she thought. _Now, attack!_

She thought it, and Eren obliged, throwing out his right leg as he had at the shoot of bamboo, and with every bit as much ferocity. Unfortunately, Annie was expecting this and dodged accordingly, simply lifting her leg, bent at the knee for Eren's shin to pass under her foot. When her foot reconnected with the earth, it was her turn. She lunged forward with her elbow, stopping just short of Eren's face. She pulled back, again taking up her stance, and there was a pause in the motion. She tapped her right elbow with her left hand and Eren knew what she was asking.

He lunged forward as she had, using his elbow the same way to which she reached up, grabbed his elbow and redirected him. He turned to find her ready and waiting, while inside the Titan, Eren smiled all for himself. Again he lunged forward with his elbow, however, just as she prepared to redirect him once again, he too stopped just in front of her face. At first she smiled, only to feel his left hand push at her side. He had attacked with both arms, but only telegraphed with the right; the left was a complete surprise, and for that Annie's eyes narrowed as a smile graced her lips.

She stepped back and took her stance, this time though she turned her hands and flicked her fingers, inviting Eren to attack again. Control was maintained as they let loose attack after attack, never making aggressive contact. Every attack was blocked, dodged, or redirected. _He learns very quickly just by watching, _Annie thought. _That day so many years ago, he used a move I had only shown him once to put Jean down, and he did it perfectly. _Eren continued the assault with Annie merely acting as guard. _He may not be particularly skilled with maneuver gear, blades, or combat strategy, but as a hand-to-hand fighter, he is exceptional._

After ducking under a kick and taking a step back, Eren's assault ceased. He then did the same as she did, giving his hands a flick, inviting her to attack him. Annie's attacks were faster and tighter. She telegraphed less and all of her movements were as short as possible. _She wastes no motion when she fights, and her attacks… _He ducked under a punch as his thoughts continued to run, _…so fast_. It's almost impossible to see where they're coming from. That's when Eren looked down to regain his balance. He watched as her feet twisted on the earth, then looked up to find her fist stopped short of his face. The game stopped for a moment, and they let their guards down.

They shared a calm, the Titans breathing slowing to rest. Eren turned his back to her, offering her his neck. He looked back to her over his shoulder, seeing she had hardened the tips of her fingers into points, just as she did the day she tried to climb over the wall. It gave him a chill, though she very carefully extricated him from the back of the Titan, and into her palm. He took a deep breath, the burns on his face a light pink. His eyes opened to find Annie's Titan face in his full view, and for the first time, Eren felt no fear or trepidation. She could end him now with no trouble at all. Crush him in her hand, bite his head clean off; any number of things could have killed him where he sat. But, she simply lowered her hand to the earth and let him walk off of it.

As he looked up to her giant form, her body erupted in a cloud of steam and a moment later she stood before him, her face hardly marred at all from the burns. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Fine," Eren replied with a smile. Annie too bore a grin, to which Eren asked, "What?"

"Have you forgotten?"

"Forgotten what?"

"Your legs," Annie said. Eren's eyes widened and he knelt down to look over and feel his shins. His pant legs still rolled up, his shins were clean and clear with not a hint of the bruising they should have had. "They're healed, and you can move them with no problem, right?"

"I can," Eren excitedly said.

Annie knelt in front of him. "There are many perks to this gift, Eren. This is just the first of many."

He nodded confidently and the two of them stood. "So…where the hell are we?"

"Several kilometers away from Survey Corps HQ," Annie said, quickly sizing up their location. She raised a hand and pointed off to the woods, "That way."

"How can you-"

"I was a scout, Eren," Annie interrupted; the small glint of happiness she just had having completely vanished. "I always know where I am."

Eren knew what she meant, and too knew why she seemed upset. He couldn't say anything to change it, and so he simply left it. When she was ready, when she was able, she would talk to him.


	4. Chapter 4

_And chapter four ^_^_

* * *

The sun was low in the sky when Eren and Annie finally had Survey Corps HQ in their sights. They hadn't spoken much on the walk over, and Eren thought that best. Annie was on his side, that much he was confident of, but the war going on inside her had to be incredible. To put her trust in the humans, nearly all of which treated her like a dog that had bitten its owner, or go home to be killed among her own kind. The latter at least would have been a warrior's death, but perhaps she went along with this because she wasn't quite ready to die. Though, maybe she simply enjoyed combat enough that she just wanted to rip something's head off.

Eren's thoughts were interrupted as Annie broke the silence. "Do you remember everything we did out there?"

"I don't remember it as much as I feel it in my arms and my legs," Eren replied.

"Show me," Annie said, turning and throwing out her leg in the same motion.

There was no telegraph, but Eren managed to lift his leg, same as she had, and when he landed, he lunged forward with his elbow, same as she had. However, this time, as she redirected him, he grabbed onto her jacket with the left hand she hadn't seen him move. It was a clumsy process that caught Annie off guard, but he pulled her to the ground with him and in an instant her legs encircled his waist, her feet locked tight behind him. His arms crisscrossed around her neck, though she had him. She flexed her legs crushing Eren's waist. He let out a groan and Annie used that moment to gain the advantage. She flicked her hips to the side tossing Eren to the ground, and before he could react, she straddled him and leaned forward, using a similar attack to his own. However, her fists were not planted in the ground as his were, her hands wrapped his neck, ready to choke him if need be.

At feeling her hands on his neck, Eren's eyes widened. "Do you submit?" Annie asked.

He blinked in disbelief, but there was something about her in that moment. She was smiling, but this was different. He nodded and immediately she relinquished her grip and sat upright atop him, victorious and completely satisfied as she tilted her head back to look to the retreating sun. "This is a fun game we play, Eren," she said. "You learn quickly and with very little instruction; that makes you an excellent fighter."

Eren's lips perked up into a smile and that's when he took notice of how and where Annie was sitting. He looked to her face, then to her body, and then her hips. _She is…an amazing woman, _he thought. _She's done so much, but as I know her now, I can't think of her as anything but a friend. I believe in her._

It was lucky for him that she got up when she did. She brushed off her pants and reached down to help him up. He took her hand and as she so often had, Annie _seemed_ to miscalculate her strength, pulling him up and causing him to crash into her. He clumsily stepped back after bumping into her and all at once, their cheeks reddened a bit. It was incredibly awkward for a moment, though Eren did his best to fix it. He reached his hand behind his head and smiled, "Thank you for teaching me and for believing in me, Annie."

This only made Annie blush a deeper shade of red. "Thank you, Eren."

"Come on," Eren said as he took the lead. "I'm starving and we'll likely only get one loaf each."

"Right," Annie said.

Within just a few more steps, they were on the outskirts of Survey Corps HQ right where they had departed earlier that morning. Levi, Mikasa, Armin and Jean all sat at the same table they were at this morning, and they were all staring at Eren and Annie as they advanced on them. The moment in the woods just a few seconds earlier was comfortable compared to the awkwardness of now. Not one of their faces wore an approving look, and Levi was the first to make any sort of a gesture, just as the sun was going down.

He raised Annie's shackles into view and commented, "Your night clothes."

Eren was angry, but he couldn't let any of it show. "Captain," he calmly said. "Is it really still-"

"As long as she sleeps under my home, it is," Levi interrupted. He stood from his seat and dropped the shackles in front of Annie. "Always watching," he whispered as he walked past her.

However, once Levi was gone, Mikasa, Armin, and Jean all remained. "Do you want your rations for the day?" Armin asked. "We put them aside for you."

Eren's eyes lit up, though Annie didn't offer much in the way of a reaction. A few moments later, the five of them sat at the table and not long after that, the questions began. "What did you do today?" Armin asked.

Annie cracked a small smile, her tone never growing nasty, "You expect me to believe you didn't see, Armin? You who sees everything?"

"We know you turned into Titans, but what else?" he asked.

"We sparred," Eren replied. "Annie says the only way to learn how to control a Titan is by spending more time _as_ a Titan."

"Annie says?" Mikasa quietly commented, her face turned away from the conversation.

"Mi-Mikasa?" Eren asked.

"Will you do everything she says, Eren?" she asked.

"If I believe it can help, yes."

Mikasa stood from her seat, still avoiding looking at either of them and commented, "Don't spend too much time in that thing, Eren."

"What do yo-"

"Enough time as a monster, and your humanity will vanish just like hers," Mikasa interrupted.

She turned and set off towards HQ as Eren stood from his seat and called out, "Mikasa! Wait! Mikasa!" He looked down to Annie who was naturally looking back up at him and he asked, "Is it true?"

"Do you think it is?" Annie asked.

Eren took a moment to think of what had happened today. What changes he experienced by being inside that Titan, but the truth was, he felt no different. He felt stronger, and he had learned a great deal about fighting without causing himself any measure of injury now that he was out of the Titan again. That's when he put it together for the first time. "You trained in your Titan form, didn't you, Annie?"

She smiled again, one of the few real smiles he'd seen on her. "I did," she replied.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Jean asked.

Eren looked back to where Mikasa was walking away only to find she was gone. He frowned, but sat back down to finish his meal, and to answer Jean's question. "Inside the Titan, there is no pain," Eren explained. "You can push your mind beyond the physical limits of your human body, but the memory stays with you, even once you're no longer in the Titan. By training as a Titan, you can learn much more much faster because there is no physical toll on your human body."

"I see," Armin said.

After a few more silent bites, Eren spoke again. "Armin?"

"Hmmm?"

"Thank you for sitting with us," Eren said. "You too, Jean. I know this is…difficult, but-"

"I don't know what the hell is going on inside her head now or back then, but right now, I would never figure her for a murderer," Jean interrupted. He stood from his seat and commented before walking off, "Keep it that way and there will be no problems."

"You feel the same way, Armin?" Annie asked.

"I don't know what I feel, Annie," Armin admitted. "You betrayed us." He looked away as he spoke, "You killed many, and now here we are having bread. Maybe it's because you killed no one I knew. Maybe if you had, I would…" Armin took a minute to gather his thoughts. "Everyone should be allowed to atone for their sins," he said. "Many of us who will never offer you their kindness, but there are those of us who believe you _can_ help."

"Which are you, Armin?"

"Seeing you here, I can only think of the time we spent together in the 104th. I don't know what your reasons were then, but I think I know what your reasons are now, and I still think you are a good person, Annie," he replied with a smile.

"What my reasons are now?" she asked.

"Goodnight, you two," Armin said as he set off for the night.

"Two out of four in one day is a start, right?" Eren asked Annie.

"You would count what Jean said as a _good_ thing?" Annie spat.

"That's just how he is," Eren commented. "Coming from him, that was a rave review."

Annie let out a small chuckle, and with a few more bites, they proceeded out of the yard, and down to their room.

* * *

Eren sat on the bed, his back to Annie as she changed into a t-shirt and shorts for the night, while Hanji waited to shackle her hands and feet. His cheeks were a full red as he sat there. Though there wasn't much time in this world for thoughts like this, hormones were hormones and Eren's were on full boil. He turned around at the sound of the door being closed to find Annie ready for bed.

"Eren?" she asked.

"Huh?" he stuttered.

"Are you alright? Your cheeks are all red."

"Uh! Yeah!" he stammered, his cheeks only getting redder. He stepped off the bed and into the blanket he laid on the floor.

For a good while, they were exactly as they were the night before, lying awake, their eyes wide open. However, unlike last night, tonight it was Eren who spoke up first. "Annie?"

"Hmmm?"

"What you asked me yesterday about Mikasa, why did you ask?"

Annie lay silent for a good long while as she contemplated her answer. She could lie. She could tell the truth. But ultimately, could she really do either? Not even she was entirely sure of her feelings on the subject. One thing was for certain; every moment she had right now was a gift. Not killed by the people in her hometown, or by the humans within the walls. She liked Eren, that much she knew, but to what degree? Was it more?

She thought about his face, his smile, his vibrant green eyes that pierced anyone and everyone he focused them on. She thought further still about him as a person. About the Eren she was growing to know more and more. The Eren who strove to become a stronger fighter, and that was something that spoke to Annie on many levels. Finally, she realized that her life and the lives of everyone in this world could be on an exceptionally short timeline. What was the point of not laying out your hand, even if you weren't sure of it?

"I wanted to know if you belonged to her, that's all," she finally said.

"Belonged?"

Annie leaned over the side of the bed, looking Eren in the eye as she spelled it out for him. "If you and Mikasa were together."

"Me and Mikasa?" Eren stuttered. "No, we're just friends; like brother and sister."

"That's good to know," Annie said as she pulled herself back onto the bed.

"Why?"

She didn't answer right away, leaving him in just a bit of suspense. She realized more and more that she had his attention, and that this was her hand to play, and her time to play it. She could do or say whatever she liked, because he was listening without question.

"Have you ever kissed a girl, Eren?" Annie asked as she shut her eyes with a light smile on her lips.

"Ah! I…um…" he was at a loss for words, but in the end, the truth came out pretty easily. "No. What about you?" Annie's eyes burst open, having not anticipated that response.

She blushed and quietly commented, "Isn't it rude to ask a girl these things?"

"Ah! Sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"No," she interrupted. She was silent for a moment before her emotions spilled over. "Just like you, just like any of us. No time to be a person or to grow up, only to learn how to fight."

"But you love to fight and to train!"

"That doesn't mean I never wanted to be a girl, Eren," she said. "Have you never wanted to be a boy?"

He suddenly remembered her sitting atop him in the woods earlier. A part of him very much wanted to be a boy in that moment. Nevertheless, that was just not the life they were allowed. "I have," he said, his hesitation dwindling. "But, it's like you said, there is never enough time to just grow up."

"I wonder if there ever will be time," Annie morosely replied.

Eren's cheeks filled a deep red. Just as Annie had come to the conclusion, he came to the same one. Now was the time if there ever was one to play your hand. "You are a…" he carefully chose his words. "…You are a good friend, and a very pretty girl, Annie Leonhart. It would be a shame to die having never been kissed." He knelt up to the side of the bed. "If you want, I'll kiss you," he said. "It probably won't be any good bu-"

And just like that, she kissed _him_.

* * *

In the dining room above Eren and Annie, Levi arrived a little later than normal; sure that everyone would be gone for the night. Mikasa too was looking for a bit of solitude, or perhaps, a particular company. As she stepped into the room, a rosy-cheeked Levi turned to her. "You're supposed to be asleep, brat!" He took a swig from his bottle and again spat, "Not a moments peace with you people here."

"Whatever happened to Ackerman?" Mikasa nonchalantly asked as she took her seat.

"That was yesterday when I wasn't as angry as I am now."

"Angry for what?" Mikasa asked. "Is your childhood best friend sleeping in the same bunk with a woman you despise, and on the Captain's orders, which you cannot question?"

"Go to hell, Ackerman," Levi grumbled.

"Ah, Ackerman again."

"Oh shut up and drink," Levi said as he pushed the bottle towards her.

Mikasa looked to the bottle, then to Levi whom seemed to be in a daze. _He's already had a lot to drink,_ she thought. _It's not like him to be like this. I want to know. I want to hear him say it. _She fake swigged the booze then passed it back to him. As she hoped, he picked up the bottle and continued drowning himself. "Why are you doing this, Captain? Do you do it every night?"

"It's none of your goddamned business, Ackerman," he growled.

"When you order me to throw myself at a Titan with alcohol in your brain, it is very much my business," she calmly replied. "I'll die for this war. I'll die for Eren if I have to. But, if I'm going to die for the whims of a drunken soldier, it would be nice to at least know why."

He lowered the bottle and scowled at her. "I won't hear this shit. If you want to drink, shut up and drink. If you want to talk, leave."

She frowned and reached out to take the bottle. Again he pushed it over to her and again she fake sipped; she'd let him drink that whole bottle if she had to. She pushed it back over to him and changed the subject, "What do you really think of Annie?"

"I hope she dies," Levi said without batting an eyelash. Mikasa instantly she knew she had touched on the right subject. It turned out Levi had a quite a few things to say on the matter of Annie. "That idiot, Eren. I don't know what he could be thinking trusting her. He got her out of the crystal and she should have been immediately turned over to us to deal with."

"When you say deal with, you mean-"

"I mean cutting off her fucking head!" Levi roared. "She killed all of my men and she did it with a smile on her face, and now, I'm housing the bitch!"

"Who died that day, Captain?"

"Shut up."

"Who died that hurt you this badly, to make you do this to yourself every night?"

"I said shut up!" Levi screamed, throwing the bottle against the wall. He walked over to Mikasa and grabbed her by her collar, "You know nothing and none of it matters, so leave it alone."

The alcohol on his breath nearly made her gag. "Forgive me for this, Captain." Before he could offer anything, Mikasa lifted him and threw him hard onto the table. Any less drunk and he might have killed where she stood, but in this state, he had no chance. Her hands wrapped his collar and she kept him tightly pinned on the table. "I know exactly what your problem is, Captain, but, I'll save my words to not cause you any more pain." Levi's eyes widened slightly as she finished her thought, "Think about _her_, Captain. She spoke so proudly and highly of you. She knew you better than anyone and I know how badly losing her hurts you."

"You don't know-"

He was interrupted as Mikasa slammed his body back against the table. "Would she have wanted this miserable existence for you?" She let go of his collar and flung the door open, letting it slam against the wall as she left him.


	5. Chapter 5

_And chapter five ^_^_

* * *

Early the following morning, Annie awoke to the sound of the door in their room opening. Her eyes opened and as they blurrily came in focus, she found Levi at the foot of the bed with Hanji beside him. While Hanji seemed ultimately indifferent, Annie swallowed hard at the sight of Levi. He looked more vacant than ever. "Good morning," Annie quietly greeted.

"Hanji is going to uncuff you," he said.

"Okay," Annie replied, unsure of why he would state the obvious.

"Then, you and Eren are coming with us," he finished.

"Where are we-"

"We are taking back Wall Maria," he interrupted. "We originally planned for Eren to complete this task, but he is not as experienced as you are with controlling that thing."

"What task?" she asked.

"You're going to use your ability to harden to leave a shell in the breach left by The Armored Titan," Hanji explained.

Annie looked away as she replied, "I see."

"What?" Levi snidely asked. "Can you not do it? Or is it a question of ethics? Fixing something one of your friends worked so hard to destroy?"

Annie's brow tightened, her anger flaring. "I can, I will, and I'll kill anything or anyone that gets in my goddamned way! How is that, Captain?"

For the first time since she'd been in his home, Levi smiled at Annie. "We'll see," he said. He turned to head out of the room and called back, "Take those shackles off and wake up Eren; we leave before sunrise."

* * *

Annie and Eren came up to the courtyard a few moments later to find a small team assembled. Mikasa, Armin, and Jean were all double-checking their maneuver gear when Eren and Annie approached them. "Good morning," Eren groggily greeted. All at once, the three of them slowed what they were doing and stopped to stare at Eren. "Umm, is everything alright?"

Jean growled and pushed past Eren to go ready his horse while Armin followed, trying to calm him down. "What's going on?" Eren asked Mikasa.

"Captain Levi isn't saying so, but he is very easy to read," Mikasa replied.

"What do you mean?" Annie asked her rival.

She looked towards Levi and Hanji and commented, "He is punishing you, and as such he is punishing us."

Eren gasped and asked, "What are you talking about?"

She looked back to Eren and Annie, "He doesn't trust either of you very much; he simply accepts that you are valuable to humanity's cause. There is more, but it helps none of us. Right now, the only thing that is important is for the two of you to keep the seven of us safe."

"Wait, the seven of us?" Eren asked. Mikasa nodded and he immediately lost it, "But how can we-"

"It won't be a problem," Annie interrupted.

"What?" Eren spat.

"It won't be a problem," Annie reiterated. "We'll rip them apart with our bare hands. Apart from what you may think of me, we all went through the same hell in training. We all helped each other. I promise, no harm will befall any of you."

"I hope you're right, Annie," Mikasa replied as she hooked her controls onto a set of blades, leaving them sheathed at her sides. She walked off towards her horse leaving Eren and Annie alone.

Eren turned to Annie and asked, "You really think we can do it?"

"Five horses in the middle, me and you in the front and back respectively," she replied. "Nothing fancy; if they get close, rip the back of their necks out and move onto the next."

Eren smiled and nodded. Annie turned to join the others when Eren reached out and grabbed her arm. She turned to face him and he asked, "What happened last night, what does it mean?"

Annie blushed slightly and asked, "What did it mean to you?"

Eren blushed as well, his hand finding its way behind his head as he replied, "I like you, Annie."

"I like you too, Eren," she replied with a smile. "Maybe tonight you can kiss _me_."

"If we live, maybe I will."

* * *

The group quickly advanced through Karanese and into the outlying village outside the wall. The sun crested the horizon and the few Titans in the area were already beginning to show signs of movement. Eren and Annie took form, and as Annie predicted, Levi put her in front and Eren in the back. His logic was simple; Annie couldn't stab them in the back if they were staring at hers. Regardless, as with the failed 57th expedition, those on horseback kept a strong pace through the village while Eren and Annie took care of any encroaching Titans.

Annie remembered Levi's instruction, delivered harsh as usual, _"Draw their attention away from us if you can, but don't do what you did in the woods. We want you to keep them away from us; not make them stampede."_

Her pace was moderate, just fast enough to allow the horses to keep up. Any Titans that came close to the group, she took their faces into her palm and threw them like ragdolls. Any that landed within Eren's range saw their necks crushed with a single heavy step.

Mikasa looked behind her, sure to keep an eye on Eren, while Armin's eyes were fixed on Annie. _She's the same as she was that day, _he thought._ Nothing gets in the way of her goal, and she follows her orders absolutely. I don't necessarily share Eren's confidence in her, but as a warrior, she is every bit of the monster Mikasa or Levi is; maybe even more so, considering she's a Titan._

The village cleared, and before long, they were in the wide-open fields where Annie's Titan form first appeared to them. Armin looked to his right, remembering that day. Thinking even more about Annie's betrayal. _I can't even fathom this moment,_ he thought. _What happened that day, and now this? If what I'm thinking is right, Annie's bond with Eren may go deeper than any of us thought._

Amazingly, the small group saw few problems as they ran through the field. They were so tightly contained there was no need for elaborate signals. Annie led the way through Titan territory, her eyes peering far further than Levi's ever could. As she ran, she couldn't help but feel guilt. _Following orders, that's all it was,_ she told herself. _This… _she looked behind her for a moment at the group on horseback, and at Eren keeping pace behind them. _Even after all I did, they're still giving me a chance. _She looked back towards her goal in the distance. _I'd never have that home._

Levi looked into the distance best he could, and within another thirty minutes of hard riding, the outskirts of the village by Wall Maria's breach came into focus. "Stop here!" Levi called, both the village as well as the Titans meandering its streets now visible.

"It's swarming with Titans," Armin commented.

"No easy approach," Jean said.

"At my best, there are still too many," Mikasa said. "If Captain Levi and I both went in, we might make it through many of them, but for how long?

"Hanji," Levi said after thinking their situation through for a moment. "Follow us in at a safe distance." He looked up to Annie and called, "Are you ready?"

However, Annie offered him no response. She stared into the village, and at the Titans that crawled through its streets. Again she remembered Levi's instructions, _"Kill them if you can, otherwise just get them out of the way."_

_How about I just tear their goddamned heads off? _she thought.

And so she did.

With no word or warning, Annie tore off towards the village at an incredible pace, quickly bringing Jean to ask, "What the hell is she doing?"

Just as the words crossed his lips, Annie came to her first Titan; a ten-meter class moving at the Titan's typical sluggish pace. It's gaping maw the easiest target, Annie thrust her hands into its mouth, ripped the top of its head clean from its body and discarded it to the ground beside her. She had destroyed the back of its neck in the same motion, killing the creature in an instant. Less than five seconds and one of the larger, potentially more troublesome Titans in the area was stone dead, and at the hands of a traitor no less.

"My god," Armin commented in awe.

Annie showed no signs of slowing, and Levi called his orders, "Mikasa! Stay here with Armin and Jean!"

"Hai!" Mikasa called.

"Hanji and Eren, follow me!"

Eren's Titan form let out a low growl, and he proceeded to follow Hanji and Levi. For all of her skill, Annie's attacks varied minimally when fighting Titans. Against another Titan like Eren, complex combat was required. However, for Titans of the mindless variety, she simply ripped them apart. _She is amazing, _Eren thought as he watched. Annie neared the breach in the wall and turned, taking Eren into her view. She waved him over to her, and from ground level, Hanji saw the motion.

_She needs to be pulled out of the Titan once she hardens the shell_, she thought_._ "Captain!" Hanji called. "We need to head for the breach in the wall!"

Levi said nothing, but changed their direction, heading towards Annie. Unfortunately, the path Annie had taken was shorter than the route the rest of the group was on. Three Titans strolled into their path, skipping Levi and Hanji altogether to engage Eren. Two nine-meter and a single ten-meter bore down on him, and though he fought them off, three on one prevented him from using the same technique Annie used earlier. _Dammit! _he yelled in his thoughts. _Don't make a sound, Eren. Don't make a single noise or they'll come even faster._

"Annie!" Levi called, and luckily, she was close enough to hear. Just as she reached the gate, she turned back to help Eren. Levi leapt up onto his horse's saddle and ordered Hanji, "Keep moving! Evade them only!" With that he launched himself at the ten-meter that had begun biting at Eren's body. It was a quick slice, rending the ten-meter dead, when Annie caught up, plunging her sharpened fingers into the neck of one of the nine-meters. Two of his enemies dealt with, Eren wound up and punched his fist clear through the other nine-meter's neck, pulling the soft spot with it.

Levi landed on a rooftop and surveyed the area, finding Hanji on the run from a seven-meter, and yet another nine-meter. "Annie! Eren! Go!" he ordered. However, as they went for her, Hanji engaged her maneuver gear. She was losing ground by the second and the only way out was in the air. Unfortunately, even a numb-minded Titan could pull a human out of the air every now and again. She screamed in agony as the nine-meter crushed her legs in its hand, and the creature wasted no time directing her towards its mouth, when suddenly, there was no mouth.

With a closed fist, Annie punched the creature's jaw clean off its face. It dropped Hanji only for Annie to catch her in her left hand, and deal with the Titan using her right, ripping out the neck in one shot. Eren joined Annie a moment later, and looked to Hanji's mangled legs. _Hanji!_ he thought. Annie turned to Eren and extended her left hand, silently asking him to take Hanji. He carefully took her into his hand, and Annie nodded in the direction of the hole in the wall. Eren nodded and followed Annie to the breach, while Levi had tracked down his and Hanji's horses, and joined them.

The area clear, Annie stepped forward into the gate, her legs shoulder width apart, and her hands pressed to the jagged brick, ensuring any gaps left would be too small for even a three-meter to get through. She shut her eyes and her body was slowly overtaken by crystal.

"Eren?" Hanji weakly said. Eren raised her closer to his ear and she spoke, "When the crystal reaches her neck, you have to pull her out!"

Eren nodded and as the crystal closed in on her neck, he reached out to pull her from the Titan. However, the skin of her Titan form was hard; much harder than the Titans they had killed just a few seconds earlier. He clawed at her back with his one free hand, beginning to panic as the crystal finally reached her neck.

"Move!" Levi shouted as he swung in on his maneuver gear.

Eren did as he was told, but as she saw what Levi was doing, Hanji shouted, "Captain! Don't!"

A cloud of steam erupted from Annie's Titan form, and Eren let out a growl as he waited. Titan or not, if Levi had tried to kill her, Eren would die avenging her. As the steam cleared, Levi was visible first, and as it cleared further, Annie lay in his arms, not a hair on her head out of place. Behind them, the hardened crystal body of The Female Titan stood like the greatest of monuments, seemingly holding the walls up around her.

"Amazing," Hanji said with tears in her eyes.

* * *

"It seems to have gone quiet," Armin said.

Mikasa was walking her horse in circles around her friends, sure to keep the strictest of watch for any Titans. As she circled around again, she looked to the village. Dust and steam billowed throughout the rooftops, obscuring the activity within. _Eren, _she thought. _I never liked it when you made the Titan scream. Now I wish you would, just so I'd know you were all right._

"Do you think they did it?" Jean asked. "No big flash of light, no lightning bolt from the sky, nothing. Could they have failed?"

Armin's eyes went wide as he exclaimed, "There!"

In the distance, Eren's Titan form approached, following behind Levi and Hanji's horses. That Annie's Titan form was nowhere to be found, Jean asked the obvious, "Where is Annie?"

"Come on," Mikasa said as she flicked her horse's reins, advancing towards the other group.

They met up seconds later, and instantly, everyone was more than a bit concerned. Annie's human form sat atop Hanji's horse, bringing Armin to ask, "Where is Hanji?"

Eren lowered his hand revealing their injured friend, while Levi explained. "She is the only casualty; both of her legs are badly injured. Broken for sure, but to what extent we won't know until we return to headquarters."

Mikasa's eyes narrowed at him, and Levi quickly took notice. Still, she said nothing; she simply waited for her orders.

"What about the wall?" Armin asked. "Did you do it, Annie?"

The second it took for Annie to answer felt like an eternity. This was it. This was the retaking of human territory on a scale infinitely larger than Trost. With Wall Maria sealed, they could push further still, reclaim Shiganshina, and finally arrive at Eren's home.

"Hai," Annie said. "The wall is sealed. Not even Reiner's Armored Titan could break that shell."

"Amazing," Armin commented in awe.

"No time for praise," Levi said. "Let's move!" As he advanced in front of Annie and Eren, he called back, "Annie! Take form as soon as you can!"

It was the first time Levi had given her an order as though she were one of his men, instead of the creature that killed his men. "Understood," she answered.

* * *

The day came and went with the ride back to Karanese. The tightness of the group, and security detail of two intelligent Titans kept things moving as smoothly as any of them could hope for, and thankfully, with no further casualties. However, when they returned to Survey Corps HQ, the prognosis of Hanji's legs was a somber one.

Eren, Annie, Mikasa, Armin, and Jean all stood outside the room in which she was being examined wincing with every new shriek. Levi was keeping her steadily supplied with liquor, though that hardly seemed to dull the pain. Her screams echoed through the halls as though she were slowly being devoured by a Titan. After nearly an hour, Hanji's scarred throat was incapable of producing any more harsh sounds, and instead a dull groan now emanated from her lips.

"I can't stand this!" Armin shouted, his hands covering his ears.

"It's my fault," Eren said with tears in his eyes. "If I had been able to fend off those Titans, Annie or Levi could have gotten to her sooner." He looked shell-shocked to say the least. "She was so kind to me when I came here, and now I-"

He was interrupted as Annie slapped him across the face. Mikasa's eyes narrowed at that, but there was no time for retaliating as Annie barked at Eren. "She still has her life and that's far more than most humans in her situation get." Annie settled her hands on Eren's shoulders, further enraging Mikasa behind her blank expression. "Today, your friend got hurt, but there was nothing you or any of us could have done to stop it. One way or the other, she will be okay, Eren."

On that note, Levi emerged from the room and stepped over to the five of them. "How is she?" Eren asked.

"Both of her legs have multiple breaks," Levi explained. "They are setting the bones, but the true extent of the damage is unknown. We are bringing her to the military doctors within Wall Sina; the same doctors currently caring for Commander Erwin. They are better equipped to take care of injuries such as these." The group all offered a nod, and Levi took Mikasa into his sights. "Ackerman?"

"Hai?" she replied.

"You are in charge."

Mikasa's eyes widened and her mouth fell open as she asked, "In charge?"

"Of the Survey Corps until I return," Levi clarified as he turned around to head back into the room. "No missions and nothing fancy. You are simply the one people will come to for direction; use your best judgment."

"Captain!" Annie called, just as Levi crossed the threshold into Hanji's room. He turned around and took her in his gaze as she asked, "The shackles?"

If he were one to smile, he might have in that moment. "Leave them off," he said as he closed the door.


	6. Chapter 6

_Good morning ^_^ So, this will be it for now. Last chapter ;) Go!_

* * *

Eren, Annie, Mikasa, Armin, and Jean all stood outside Hanji's room, still suffering the occasional groans of their friend. However, as Hanji's cries diminished, as it seemed she was feeling less of the pain, Eren was the first to break the silence among them. "Hey, do you guys know what happened today?"

"We closed the wall," Armin said, turning to face Annie, along with everyone else. "No. _Annie_ closed the wall."

"I didn't do much," Annie said, her cheeks blushing slightly.

"No matter what happened in the past, Annie, today feels _very_ good," Jean commented with a smirk, leaning back against the wall beside the door. "Hanji was hurt and there is no mistaking it as anything but a tragedy. But, all of the missions we've _all_ been involved with resulted in hundreds of gruesome deaths; deaths that affected us all. Today, for us to return with one injured soldier, and our mission in sealing the wall that was opened five years ago a success, _this_ is a great victory for humanity, and a victory for all those that have died."

They all shared a friendly grin when Mikasa asked, "When Captain Levi put me in charge, do you think he meant starting right now?"

"Why?" Eren asked.

"Considering today's events, it seems only right for the scouting party responsible for today's victory to enjoy a drink together," she said.

"But we're not old enou-"

Just as Levi had done to her, Mikasa interrupted Annie, "Do you think our ages matter at all in this world?"

For the first time in the time they'd known each other, Annie and Mikasa shared a smile, and with that, the five of them headed to the dining room.

* * *

"Cheers!" they shouted as they clinked their glasses together. Unfortunately, for all of the day's good fortunes, the situation went from bad to worse very quickly. They all had almost no food in their bellies, no experience drinking, and what was in essence an extreme workout; the first taste of alcohol was enough to make every one of them tipsy. After his first full glass, Armin was visibly wobbling in his seat. "I don't think this was such a good idea, Mikasa," he said. His stomach gurgled and his cheeks puffed up as he struggled to keep the booze down.

As he had the day Pixis offered him his flask, Eren got little more than that first sip down. By the third swig, he was disgusted and was done. His newest accomplice though was doing quite well.

"Girls metabolize alcohol at a different rate," Annie said.

"I can see that," Jean said in awe as Annie and Mikasa downed their second glass each.

Annie watched Mikasa closely as she spoke with Jean and Eren. The conversation disappeared in her mind and she simply stared at her, never letting herself be caught by her rival. Today was a good day; she knew that very well. Regardless of what she was, or what she'd done in the past, today she did something that mattered. Something that was important to hundreds of thousands of people, and feelings like that had a way of making things that seemed taboo one minute, seem _very_ inconsequential the next. Not just inconsequential, but worthy of risk, and now, Annie was going to put her cards on the table for every one of them to see.

"Mikasa?" Annie said, interrupting their conversation, and putting all of their eyes on her. She didn't blink or falter as she spoke, "I would like your permission to be with Eren."

"What?" Eren stammered, while Armin and Jean's jaws dropped in unison.

"I cannot ask his mother or father, so I ask you, his closest and oldest friend," Annie said. "Do you object?"

Mikasa was at a loss for a moment. A part of her instantly knew her answer, but, as she thought about it, a different answer presented itself. _"I'm not your husband and I'm not your brother!" _she heard Eren scream in her thoughts. She knew that was just how he was sometimes. Harsh and coarse, but as he proved so many times in the past, he would risk his life to protect her, and he would do so without fail. What made Annie such an interesting rival was that when it came to her, Mikasa wondered whom Eren would choose should both her _and_ Annie's lives be in danger.

"Mi-kasa?" Annie asked, breaking her from her thoughts.

"Gomen," Mikasa said as a bead of sweat dripped down Eren's cheek. She looked to her childhood friend, her surrogate brother in every regard, and asked, "How do you feel, Eren? Do you wish to be with Annie?"

Eren's eyes blinked at a rapid pace as his mind raced. Too long and he'd insult Annie. Too quick and he'd offend Mikasa. Just a few seconds passed, he answered from his gut, "I do!"

Mikasa smiled, "Then who am I to keep you both apart?" She slammed down the remainder of her glass and commented, "However, as the present superior officer here, it is my duty to remind the both of you that your personal agenda can _not_ interfere with your battlefield conduct. Is that understood?"

"It is," Eren and Annie replied in unison with a bow of their heads.

Annie looked to everyone in the group, tears forming in her eyes as she spoke, "Thank you. Thank you all for giving me a home I never felt unwelcome in, even now." Her tears ran free as she continued, "I'm sorry. I'm…" she couldn't keep it together at all, "…I'm very sorry," she said with another bow.

"Enough, Annie," Jean said as he stood from the table. "Some day, tell us what the hell it was all about, but for now, you're alright in my book. Hey, do us all a favor and maybe calm Eren down a bit."

Annie blushed at that, though everyone else gave a light laugh and a smile.

"I think I need the bathroom," Armin said.

"Ahh…" Mikasa began.

"I'll take him," Jean said. "We should all turn in for the night anyway."

"Hai," Mikasa said as she stood from the table. She raised her glass, and Annie whom was the only other person to still be holding a glass did the same. "To Wall Maria!" Mikasa said.

"Maria!" the group all said in unison.

"Dismissed!" Mikasa said, indulging in the perks of her temporarily awarded position.

* * *

In Eren and Annie's room, Eren sat atop the bed, his back to Annie as she changed her clothes. She looked behind her as she pulled her shirt over her shoulders and commented, "You know you…" She thought about her words, making sure they weren't just hormones pouring out. "…you don't have to not look."

Eren blushed a deep shade of red. "It's…very soon, Annie," he said. "Just not tonight."

"Is there a better night?" she asked.

He intended to look for just a second, but a single glimpse turned into a double take, until he was staring at her. A light pair of shorts replaced her white pants and harness, and a simple white tank top replaced her hooded sweater and jacket. It was the first time he'd seen her in such simple attire, as well as the first time he'd seen her arms, and now all of her legs as well. Her body was slim and tight, curvy where it counted, and covered in lean and defined musculature. He couldn't quite think of the word for it. She was beautiful, but in a way he'd never really seen before. Certainly not with his own two eyes. Not in this world.

At seeing Eren's awestruck reaction, Annie smiled and asked, "What?"

He stumbled so badly as he tried to tell her, "You…you look…you're…very beautiful." He at least got that out somewhat clearly.

"Thank you," she replied with a grin.

_This is nice, _she thought. _Now though, I can't let him off easy, can I? _She smirked deviously as she cheerily commented, "Your turn."

"Huh?" Eren asked in panic.

"You're not going to sleep in your maneuver gear, are you?" she asked. "Go on; change. I'll wait."

"But that's not fair!" Eren stammered. "I was looking away while you were changing!"

"How can I be sure of that? You could always be a pervert, Eren," she calmly stated.

"I am not! I didn't look until you were done!"

"Very well," Annie said as she turned around. "I'll only turn when you're done, okay?"

Eren said nothing, but Annie could hear it. He moved a little, turned and checked. Moved a little more; turned and checked. She let out a chuckle, and then all at once there was a commotion as Eren tried to change as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, he was in such a rush, he hadn't taken off his right shoe, and his foot got caught in his pant leg. He tried to hard to gain his balance, but it was impossible. Both hands were pulling on his pants, he was standing on one foot, and before long, he fell flat on his face with a thud.

"Is everything alright, Eren?" Annie asked, still not turning around.

"Yeah," he groggily answered. "Shit," he grumbled.

"Do you need any hel-"

"No!" he shouted. "I'm fine! Just give me a minute!"

His pants exchanged for shorts, he pulled his shirt off, and that's when Annie took her first peek. His back was covered in muscle as were his arms. Like hers, only a little more defined in his upper back. She quickly looked away again; her cheeks blushed red, only for Eren to invite her a moment later, "Okay, you can turn around."

Annie did as he asked, and now there they were, standing on opposite sides of the bed, staring at each other. It never had a chance to be comfortable, before it became supremely awkward. Both of them were frozen stiff, and neither had anything clever to say.

"So…what do we do…?" Eren asked.

"We should probably go to sleep," Annie commented.

"Ah! Right!" Eren said, supremely relieved to have something, anything to alleviate the awkwardness of the moment. He collapsed to the floor like a bag of bricks and pulled the blanket over him. "Goodnight, Annie-chan!"

Annie's awkward expression gave way to a more familiar scowl. "Stupid," she quietly growled. She climbed onto the bed, took her pillow, lifted it over her head, and threw it down with all of her might onto Eren's head.

"Gah!" he shouted as he fumbled the pillow off of his head. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Come to sleep with me in the bed!" Annie demanded, instantly turning Eren's cheeks a deep red.

"Are you su-"

"I don't bite," Annie interrupted with a smile.

It was a clumsy process, as the bed was a twin-size at best, they would have to sleep on, or very close to one another to make this work.

"I don't think we're going to both fit, Annie," Eren said.

"Yes we will, here, give me your hand," Annie instructed as she lay on her side. She pulled his hand around her as though he were her blanket, and his body followed suit, fitting onto and around the curves of her body. She lay there with her eyes closed, and a very satisfied smile on her face. "See? It's not too hard."

_Easy for you to say, _Eren thought. However, something about this moment, about being this close to her and her inviting and demanding such closeness, she was happy this way. Did that mean she wouldn't fight off a kiss?

So many cards played and laid out these past few days; there was no time for hesitation.

"Annie?" Eren asked.

Immediately, she twisted in his arm onto her back as she asked, "Yes?"

"Can I…" he tried. "…can I kiss you goodnight?"

"I don't know," Annie said with a smirk, mocking and encouraging him all at once. "Can you?"

All manner of cracked noises came from his lips as he thought of a hundred different ways to defend himself. Luckily for her, the answer he needed to give was the one he gave. Her eyes closed as he leaned his face to hers, and there it was, the same feeling from the previous evening, but so much better now. Her lips were so soft, and the way she gave herself completely to this moment, it was something Eren physically felt through the kiss.

He pulled his lips from hers, their eyes slowly opening to take in one another. Their breathing was at the very least taxed, and Annie would be the one to break the silence, "I thought you said you'd be bad at that?"

"How do you know I'm good at it?" Eren asked.

She smiled at that. "I don't, but I know it felt nice."

"Nice enough that I shoul-"

Annie reached her hand up, wrapping it around his head and forcing his lips to hers. This time, the kiss was different; messier, rougher, and all the same, much more fun, even if it was infinitely less delicate. Constant reassertion of the kiss, constant reclaiming of one another's lips; it escalated further and further by the minute until finally, Eren broke contact.

"What? What's the matter?" Annie asked.

"We shouldn't…" Eren left his words hanging there. He knew what he wanted to say, what he _needed_ to say, but still, so awkward.

Though her actions told that Annie was ready in every way, shape, and form, she smiled. Perhaps this was what she loved most about him, that even though he was a mad man who woke up wanting nothing more than to murder Titans, he was still capable of being gentle. Not just gentle, but polite and courteous to a lady. "We don't have to," she said. "But…" she lifted her head from the pillow and kissed him, "…I'll have my kisses as I see fit. Understand?" she said with a broad smile.

"As you wish, Annie," Eren said as he leaned to kiss her once more.

* * *

_And that is all for now :) If you made it this far, I really hope you enjoyed it :)_

_I won't lie, there are ideas in my head where I could go after this. There are things to explore, things to do, people to find, and stories to complete. But (!), as I'm sure you all know, AoT is no small universe. It's a fanfic writer's worst nightmare trying to retcon everything that happens in a series as complex as this. So, before I do anything else, I need to think a lot, and about a lot of things. _

_This story serves more than anything to fix Annie into the core group, and have them not only accept her, but appreciate her, despite what she did :) I would like to explore more of the possibility of putting Mikasa and Levi together, as well as get further into Annie and Eren's relationship._

_Anyway, that's that :) Thank you very much for reading and hopefully I'll see you again sometime soon :)_  
_-jm_


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